In the late 1800s, Sonoma County made a name for itself as home to a number of Utopian colonies. Located not too far from one another, they were clustered within the great Russian River watershed that flows through the Santa Rosa plain. The 110-mile river is a vital resource in Northern California — from its headwaters in the north near Ukiah in Mendocino County; it meanders in every direction through the heart of Sonoma County’s wine country to make its way to the Sonoma Coast and the Pacific Ocean. Our beloved Russian River provides essential water for residential and agricultural uses and has been a San Francisco Bay Area popular summer vacation destination since the 1860s.
The river and its fertile lands were also an indisputable attraction for those seeking a “higher life” together. In general, the colonies had religious and social reform origins, an agricultural economic base, and a message to present to the world. Excellent agriculturists, the members cultivated the land with care and reaped abundant harvests. Most often, as old postcards reveal, planting a vineyard for grapes and wine was an integral part of the plan. My collecting passion for vintage California winery postcards gets an extra boost by finding such treasured vineyard scenes — and a short Utopian vineyard tour.
Preston, Near Cloverdale, 1907
First stop is Preston, a successful 19th century quasi-Utopian community that evolved around the faith-based medical practice, charismatic leadership, and divine ministry of “Madam” Emily Preston. Located on the Russian River in the upper end of the county just outside Cloverdale, near Italian-Swiss Colony at Asti, it is the farthest north of our little tour destinations. Emily Preston (1819–1909) and the hillside town of Preston have inspired more than one book-length history. Her Virginia-born husband, Col. Hartwell Preston, purchased their 1500 acres in the 1870s and planted hay and grain, orchards and vineyards on the slopes above the Russian River. By 1885 Preston Ranch had grown into a thriving community and haven for those who followed the teachings and faith healing of Madam Emily. She diagnosed health problems and sold mail-order home-compounded remedies made from the herbs and plants in her garden, while grapes were harvested from the vineyards to make “medicinal”wine and cordials for the members of the community. Postcards of historic Preston are quite scarce, becoming rare; it was a long search before this one showing the vineyards was found. Preston had its own train Depot and Post Office (lower right corner) where this esteemed card was postmarked in 1907.
Burke’s Sanitarium, Near Santa Rosa. On the Road Of A Thousand Wonders, c1910.
“Nature never supplied a more ideal location for a sanitarium,” advertised Dr. Willard Burke in 1898. Dr. Burke had come to Sonoma County to establish a sanitarium for his wealthy San Francisco Bay Area patients. He had acquired the property, once the site of the short-lived Utopian colony named Altruria, two years earlier. This perfect spot for Nature’s remedies was located on bucolic Mark West Creek north of Santa Rosa in a beautiful little valley where gardens and grapes, and patients could thrive. He converted the unfinished Altruria hotel into the main medical facility, built cottages along the creek for long-term patients, and planted vineyards.
Extensive Vineyards Climb The Slopes Surrounding Dr. Burke’s Sanitarium, c1910
Part expensive nursing home, part fashionable resort with unrivaled cuisine and wines on the table, the Sanitarium was a famous success until 1910 when Dr. Burke was accused of attempted murder (dynamiting the tent of his sleeping mistress). The most notorious crime and trial yet in Santa Rosa’s history, he claimed his innocence, was found guilty, and sentenced to San Quentin Prison for ten years. Paroled after five, Dr. Burke — a wealthy man who was much respected in Santa Rosa and well-known in the State — returned to private practice in Santa Rosa, and sold his sanitarium. A later c1915 pre-Prohibition postcard shows the sanitarium as Woodland Acres Sanitarium, Burke, California. Vineyards still blanket the hillsides.
Mammoth Trunks Of Wild Grape Vines, Mark West Warm Springs, Sonoma Co.
Since the 1870s Mark West Mineral Springs, though never a colony, was a Sonoma County wonder for health seekers. Located not far from Dr. Burke’s Sanitarium on the county road that follows Mark West Creek, it grew to be the “most Picturesque Pleasure & Health Resort in California.” The mineral waters were applauded as unsurpassed, while First-Class accommodations and the “world’s largest grape arbor” attracted visitors nationwide by stage and rail. Definitely not “wild,” as the postcard caption states, these ancient Mission variety grape vines, some with mammoth trunks five feet in diameter, are over 150 years old. The grapevines were originally planted to cover the hotel’s veranda and provide respite from the summer sun. As one guest wrote home, “It is terrible hot, too hot to move.” A cool glass of refreshing wine, please.
Mark West Springs. Largest Grape Vine In The World, 1950.
Although Mark West Springs Health Resort was not a wine-growing property, it remained most famous for the World’s Largest Grape Arbor covering the highway running by and the large veranda running along the front of the hotel. A superb four-card series was produced by photographer Casper Laws c1950. Here he has captured the “Largest Grape Vine in the World” stretching from the hotel to cover the two-lane county road. Amazingly, the grand old vines still do so today.
Fountaingrove Vineyards & Winery, Santa Rosa, c1940s.
Perhaps the most famous of the Sonoma County Utopian communes was Fountaingrove, founded in 1875 when mystic Thomas Lake Harris brought his Brotherhood of New Life followers from Brocton, New York to Sonoma County. It is also the only one that was a bonded commercial winery (No.1051). Their colony, winery, and vineyards were located on 1700 acres of rolling hillside land just north of Santa Rosa (and south, over the hill from Mark West Creek area). Harris believed in “cosmic sexuality, divine respiration, fairies, and partaking of wine as a divine and celestial substance.” Sex scandals sent the “spiritual leader with the mad charisma” running, leaving the winegrowing enterprise in the hands of his devoted follower Kanaye Nagasawa who, with his celebrated palate and viticulture prowess, oversaw many vintages of prize-winning wines until Prohibition and his subsequent death in 1934. In 1954 the idle vineyard was uprooted and the historic winery dismantled. A 2009 postcard writer described the scene as “decrepit, abandoned, in the middle of a field of business parks on Round Barn Blvd…” This artistically rendered linen-type postcard of Fountaingrove in the 1940s is the only known postcard view during its operating years. Thankfully it shows the major picture, including the large ivy-covered 1883 stone wine cellar, the Champagne Vaults and expansive rolling vineyards, and a bottle of wine front and center.
Fountaingrove Round Barn, Built 1899
The landmark Fountaingrove Round Barn was built in 1899 on a vineyard-covered hillside above the winery, a beacon from the valley floor below. Destroyed in the ferocious 2017 wildfires, it had been a cherished reminder of the once thriving Utopian community and their magnificent vineyards, wine cellars, award-winning wines.
Historians have been attracted to Sonoma County’s Utopian scene ever since its appearance and have produced an abundance of well-researched literature. It is fascinating reading.
